Well worth 99p of anyone's money, this. War Child Music bill themselves as "All Exclusive All Good All For Charity" and feature contributions from bands such as Radiohead, Oasis, Terrorvision and the Manics. 70p of each quid goes to the War Child charity.

Amongst their tracks for this month they've gotten their hands on an exclusive recording from the as-yet-untitled The Crimea album slated for a 2005 release. Something's Crying recently appeared on the KCRW Morning Becomes Eclectic show, and is a fine example of why this band are one to keep an ear out for.

Technical stuff: the track can be purchased in either WMA or iTunes M4P format. I suggest the M4P, because iTunes will let you export an AAC copy which is playable in Winamp. Don't be put off by any of this, though, because you can also burn your download to CD from Windows Media Player or iTunes. It's all quite simple.

So, what's the track like? It's a slow-building four minutes and fifteen seconds, progressing from softly spoken intro to grand, sweeping choruses (the female backing harmonies are a particularly nice touch.) The last minute is a roiling guitar soundscape, used with great effect, and all of the trademark experimentation with instruments is there. Any worries about the band signing to a major label altering their sound are happily dispelled. The mix is a little tighter, perhaps, but this is the band that Crimea fans have come to know and love.

Lyrically we're in familiar territory. I forget exactly how much older than me Davey is, but dying before the age of thirty is a preoccupation evident in other songs. I read Someone as "if god exists, why would it rely on people to infer its existence, and why allow so much bad shit to happen?" The nice thing about Davey's lyrics, though, is that they're left to interpretation. What people hear in them is at least as important as what he means. The most excellent Girl Just Died (from the White Russian Galaxy single) being a case in point—which, by the way, is reportedly being re-recorded for a US release! 2005 doth indeed look set to be the year of The Crimea.

A preview of the 5-track EP version of Lottery Winners On Acid released in America can be found here, and more information in general at www.inaudible.co.uk.

SOMEONE'S CRYING

Someone's crying, Lord... someone's crying
Someone's in trouble, Lord... someone's in danger
Someone's on their last legs, Lord... someone's on the way out
Someone's been totalled, Lord... someone's been smoke

Someone...
Someone made the finest apple-pie
This side of the after-life
Someone...
Someone never reached the big three-oh
How could you let her go?
How could you let her go?
Oh silent one?